Although they’re expected to come back with an improved offer after seeing their first two bids for Liverpool talisman Philippe Coutinho rebuffed by the Anfield outfit, Barcelona are running in to the same kind of difficulties that the Reds are in the transfer market — the money is there, but the need to sell just isn’t.
“Not just Barca but any team looking for top quality players are getting involved in a very difficult situation in this market. Why? Because the market is where clubs like us want to sign top quality players. There’s no buy-out clauses so that makes things trickier,” explained Barcelona sporting director Robert Fernandez. “Yes, we are negotiating with clubs to make several signings, but in all awareness of the difficulty,” he continued, admiting that things aren’t going easy.
“Dembele and Coutinho are two important players that we like a lot and have done for a long time. They have the conditions, the right age and could adapt to our football,” added the Barca chief. “We still have days ahead of us, would like to move things faster, but do admit they’re two players we would like here. But it’s the clubs who will have the final say on if we finally achieve those two transfers.”
And, if Liverpool have it their way, their little Brazilian won’t be going anywhere. Although he continues to be ruled out of action with a back problem, the club remain adamant that he will remain on Merseyside past the summer transfer window. That, of course, could depend on what Barcelona brings back to the table when they inevitably come knocking once again — besides publicly declaring their interest in Coutinho, Fernandez also said “people will leave because there will be arrivals“, hinting that they could be open to sending a player or two to Anfield in part exchange for the 25-year old.
Now, just who they might end up with remains to be seen. Rafinha, who is currently struggling to recover from a knee injury, is one player whose name has been linked with a move to Merseyside as a makeweight in the Coutinho deal along with Croatian attacking midfielder Ivan Rakitic — a player who was a target for Liverpool before he made the switch to the Nou Camp. Part exchanges, which are rare, open up a whole new can of worms and could complicate an already complicated situation. Remember when we tried to get Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona before sending Luis Suarez the other way? Enough said…
